The Korea Herald

Late SNU student receives honorary diploma for work in Tanzania

Seoul National University is to award a student who died while volunteering in Tanzania with an honorary diploma.Architecture major Lee Young-jun passed away last July, after finishing design plans for a school in Boma Ng’ombe, Tanzania.The veteran volunteer died of a heart attack while swimming, just before he was due to return to Korea.Lee, who was 24 years old at the time of his death, had spen

Social Affairs Jan. 24, 2011

The female warriors of tomorrow train today

First co-ed ROTC cadets go through military training side by side with men, look to change attitudesSEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province ― At a military training camp in the mountainous outskirts of Seoul, Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets in camouflage, equipped with K-2 assault rifles, strike at their imagined enemy with the butt of their weapons.Closer examination of the future warriors reveals some

Social Affairs Jan. 24, 2011

The female warriors of tomorrow train today

More foreign wives seeking legal advice

A large number of foreign wives sought legal advice on divorce last year, a government counseling center said Thursday, causing concern that an already high divorce rate for international marriages could rise. In a 2010 report released by the Emergency Support Center for Migrant Women, legal counseling sessions numbered 10,604, up 23 percent from the previous year.Although legal advice does not ne

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2011

Korea to offer online lectures in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian universities will introduce online real-time lectures on Korea’s popular culture, automobile industry and other hallyu content, addressing the lack of professors despite growing global interest, according to the Korea Foundation on Wednesday.In celebration of its 20th year anniversary, the foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Indonesia, University

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2011

Family of missing Japanese still hopeful

The daughters of a Japanese woman who went missing a year ago are desperately holding onto hope that she may still be alive.Hinato and Madoka Tanahashi came here for a four-day manhunt and left for Japan last Friday, after appealing for help in their search from Gangwon Province Gov. Lee Kwang-jae, a women’s group in the town where she was last seen, and Hallyu star Ryu Si-won, of whom she was a d

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2011

Family of missing Japanese still hopeful

Quarter of Southeast Asian expats in Seoul experience discrimination: survey

One out of every four Southeast Asians living in Seoul has experienced discrimination, according to survey results released Tuesday.The poll of 333 expatriates living in Seoul, conducted by the Seoul Development Institute, found that Asians experience more discrimination than foreigners from OECD countries, which also include Japan.According to the poll, 25.9 percent of those from Southeast Asian

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2011

Watchdog’s guidelines on sexual harassment

Minor but pervasive conduct of a sexual nature can be seen as sexual harassment, the state human rights watchdog said in a guidebook released Monday.The guidebook, by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, illustrates scenarios where offensive verbal, physical and visual conduct constituted sexual harassment, and advises on how to deal with such situations.The watchdog has distributed 12,0

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2011

Mobile phones are school bullying tool

Students here are using mobile phones as a tool in cyber bullying, according to a study released Monday.Professors from the Cyber University of Korea and Soongsil University conducted a survey of 718 middle school students in Seoul in 2008. Of the 715 that answered, 13.7 percent said they had been victims of bullying through their cell phone.According to the survey, one out of every seven students

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2011

Marine applicants on the rise after North Korea attack

January saw the highest ever competition ratio of young men applying to be enlisted in the Marine Corps, according to a report submitted to a lawmaker by the Military Manpower Administration on Sunday.The number of applicants for the Marine Corps for January was 4,553. The competition ratio of 4.5 to 1 is the highest since the MMA began tallying the number of applicants for the Marine Corps in 200

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2011

Foreign interns pave the path for Seoul

A native of Burundi, Ghyslaine Kamikazi is bringing her fresh perspective and foreign background to help raise Korea’s cultural sensitivity and hone its competitive edge in the global market.Kamikazi, who came to Korea four years ago for higher education, eagerly took the opportunity to gain experience as an intern for the Seoul city government this winter. The senior at Ehwa Women’s University is

Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2011

Google charged over credit card info, passwords

Company denies illegal activityPolice said they have charged global Internet giant Google Inc. Thursday for their online location tracking service over allegations it violated Internet privacy laws here. According to the Cyber Terror Response Center, the National Police Agency’s Internet crime unit, the conglomerate’s “Street View” mapping service gathered private information from unencrypted wire

Social Affairs Jan. 13, 2011

Google charged over credit card info, passwords

Legal adult age reduced to 19

The age of legal adulthood is to be lowered from the current 20 to 19 under a revised civil law bill, officials said Wednesday.The bill, which was passed by the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee last month, is expected to be approved at a plenary session of the National Assembly next month, they said.When the revision takes effect in July 2013, young adults the age of 19 will be ab

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2011

Articles by Robert Lee